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Popularity Over Time: How Many Boys Have Been Named William

This chart illustrates how many Boys were named William in the U.S. since 1880.

A few facts about the boy's name William:

Records indicate that 4,017,594 boys in the United States have been named William since 1880.

The greatest number of people were given this name in 1947, when 66,814 people in the U.S. were given the name William. Those people are now 69 years old.

So ... how do we know this stuff? Baby Names Hub identifies trends by analyzing vast amounts of data made available by the U.S. government and other public sources. This data, including social security statistics, provides detailed information on baby name popularity and trends in the United States.

Comments about the name William

87%

Approval RatingBased on the comments submitted below

33 Positive Comments

"My son and his wife just named their newborn son Will. Not short for William, just Will. I love it!" Dec. 1, 2013:

"My fathers name is William. My whole like he went by Bill until he had a big life change at 45ish an changed to Will. I named my son Liam in honor so it's the same but not... He's only three now but i'm looking forward to having so many versions of his name to yell when he's in trouble. My mom used to yell all my sisters names at me before she got to mine an my son is an only child so i'd hate to have him miss out :) "WILLIAM, BILLY, WILL, LIAM... GET OVER HERE!"" Jan. 5, 2011:

"My name is William and I go by Wil, with one L. My mother will tell you that I was a very stubborn little kid and did not like that my name was also a word, therfor I got ride of an "extra" L and now I am Wil. Will doesn't look like me at all." Dec. 20, 2010:

"Will is an adventurous young man. He created a new drink tonight. Some people pronounce his name "Will-yum", some people pronounce it "Will-yummy". And, he's heard the gamut from Will to Willmy. He feels like Prince William has done us a good service." Nov. 19, 2010:

"The name William ROCKS! From the time I was born, until the begining of my teen years, I was known as "Billy". From my teen years, until my early 20's, I was known as "Bill". From my early 20's to now, I have been known as "Will". I love the name William and what it stands for, it's a strong name! "William's, Will's, Bill's and Billy's of the world...unite!"" Oct. 20, 2010:

"William is a wonderful strong name! We call my son Wills for short." Mar. 22, 2010:

"I like the name William because it is my step dad's name he is a JR." Nov. 7, 2009:

"My name is Guillaume, which is french for William. It's awesome to know that your name exists in almost every language since Guillaume le conquırant (William of Normandie) conquered england. I'm called Guillaume, Guy, William, Bill, Guillermo, Guiche, Mımo, Giulelmo, and so on. Every language has it's own sauce :) mine is le French" Aug. 13, 2009:

"My name is William and once at a tournament the guy asked, "Who's William?" and after I said I was, he said, "Good name" so I think the name is very awesome. =)" Jul. 3, 2009:

"My name is William and I'm now 24. I have gone by William, Willie and Will and I've enjoyed them all. I think I will always be known by William to my family and now my friends all call me Will. I'm excited that Liam is a nickname for William! I had no idea!!" Mar. 26, 2009:

"My dad's name is William, but his nickname is Biff. We just named our son William, and now his nickname is Wiff!!" Dec. 19, 2008:

"i like my name william becaue it runs in the famly. i am adopted and the nake william runs in the famly i was adopted into, so i fit" Oct. 22, 2008:

"I'm named William, and I love the name for it's versatility.
I introduce myself to co-workers as William, but my family calls me Bill. I like to have cute girls call me Billy :)" Sep. 13, 2008:

"I love my name, William, because of how unique it is. I have never met another William in my whole life." Apr. 14, 2008:

"I think the name William is great. If for nickname Liam sounds good but I don't really like Bill, Billy is still ok for a young boy." Mar. 25, 2008:

"We named our first son William and we call him Will. Every now and then my dad slips and calls him Bill, but I don't think he'll ever have the nickname Bill because we as his parents can determine what he is called. I love the name Will for a little boy and I think it will fit when he's older but if not, William is not such a long name that it must be shortened w/ a nickname." Feb. 7, 2008:

"William's a classic, strong, timeless name. I love it.
How about using Liam, the Irish for William, as a nickname. Remember, though, that Will was good enough for Shakespeare!" Dec. 22, 2007:

"My son is named William after my dad and we love the name. To put a new spin on the name we call him Wills and it is so fitting and we get a lot of compliments on that nickname!!" Nov. 15, 2007:

"I was more or less forced to name my son William because my husband had his heart set on naming his son after himself, his father and his grandfather. It wasn't what I would have chosen on my own. I felt that it had been too common for centuries, although I did think that it had fallen out of usage in recent years. But now I'm surprised to see in fact that it has never fallen out of the top twenty. Anyway, the name has grown on me in the last twenty-one years (my son's age now) and I have come to appreciate the fact that it is a classic, high-class name with a strong and elegant connotation. Our William goes by Will. He likes his name and I can't imagine him called anything else." Sep. 22, 2007:

"I was always called William as a boy, but from my teens on I was called Bill (except by my parents). My wife calls me Billy and refers to me as William to other people. I am now in my 60's and have gone back to giving my name as William. I like the name, wouldn't want any other." Aug. 22, 2007:

"My name is William and i was bron in 89, i know at leats 5 other kids named Bill and i even had 4 Bills in one class...that was a blast, all of our last names started with Br.... kinda weird eh?" May. 6, 2007:

"my name is William. I think my name is cool and I like it." Jan. 14, 2007:

"my boy friendas nam,e is william and i love it cuz wen im happy i cal him will and then he knowss wen im not happy cuz i call him william lol" Aug. 13, 2006:

"william is a name that depicts the true essence of life: british humor" Jul. 9, 2006:

"As one can see, it used to be a very popular name, although it isn't any longer. I don't mind. I love my name. It's dignified and now I carry the name of many great people throughout history. That may not be significant to some but I believe that there is a lot in a name, therefore, the name William is fitting. Surprisingly, there are some people who mispell it but it's rare. Otherwise, it's great." May. 11, 2006:

"My name is William, the third generation in my family and I am very proud of it, and it's long history. William the Conqueror, Prince William, etc. It's very versitile, William, Will, Bill, Billy or Liam are all acceptable. Not common as well, which is a plus." Jan. 5, 2006:

"This is a wonderful name. It seems to be a name that passes down from generation to generation." Dec. 23, 2005:

"It's an excellent name with a grand history. Many US presidents were named William. Many great characters in history were named William, like William Shakespear and William the Conquerer. And of course, it's the name that Charles and Diana chose for their son, Prince William." Dec. 20, 2005:

"The name William is passed down from generation to generation in many families." Nov. 25, 2005:

"William- Will for short, is such a STRONG name. Its a classic and really masculine." Nov. 17, 2005:

5 Negative Comments

"my friend is called will and i play around with him all the time but i like to call him micheal jackson" Sep. 29, 2010:

"i hate it. my name is so boring but then again thats fitting." Jul. 6, 2008:

"Iam william i was named after my grandfather who was born in 1915, me in 1984 i was called billy and still am and i dont mind. iam also called bill and will and hardly william the name is like and alias and if someone ask my name i tell them billy, bill or will not william. Iam proud of my nameand i like it." Jan. 22, 2008:

"It is a lousy name since no-one knows what to call me. I have gone by Bill Will and Willie, all of which I hate. I wish I'd been named something without all the nicknames. Dean, Aaron, Shawn, Jason....these are great names and no nicknames." Aug. 21, 2007:

"It's a little weird. You can break it down into Will-i-am. There are also too many nicknames for it. Will, Bill, Willy, Billy." Apr. 21, 2006:

"my name is william and people have been calling me liam will willy willie bill billy and billie" Apr. 5, 2010:

"My real name is William and I like it a lot. I used Billy when I was growing up.I use the Bill now. Many of my friends still call me Billy. I like my name a lot because it is so versitile and translates to many different languages." Nov. 13, 2009:

"my name is Bill, but i wish my name was williiam at least so i could call my self will, but my name is bill, witch i hate it :( is there any diffrent names for bill??" Nov. 3, 2009:

"Our one and a bit old son is called William, as his daddy choosen it due to its historical nature and since we live in Windsor we said we can call him Prince William too.( Princess Diana's son)
It's easy to pronounce, everybody knows how to spell it, got few nice short variations.A name very well recommended I think!" May. 8, 2009:

"My name is William born on 43. Have hated being called bill ever since. I prefer the name Gary anyways. Who ever thought that bill should be the short form for William?" Aug. 23, 2008:

"I love the name Will, for I have a crush with a boy named Will.
XD
But it's such a cute name. >>; (he can't know this!!)" Mar. 21, 2008:

"William is a great name, I use Bill in business close Friends call me Billy, and its nice to know that that the most distinguished person Billy Graham has gone a lifetime being called Billy" Oct. 7, 2007:

"my name is william but i have always been called billy by my family my wife hates when anyone calls me bill.... so people get a bad strike from her by not respecting what i am called BILLY" Sep. 23, 2007:

"My brother's name, my dad's name, both of my grandpa's names...and they all go by Bill! If someone yells BILL in our house at Thanksgiving, it's practically a stampede!" Jan. 14, 2007:

"This is my father's name, and he has always gone by "Bill." I would like to give my son this name and call him "Will." A friend's son is named William after his father, and is called "Liam" which I think is a really nice and unusual nickname." Jun. 16, 2006:

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